Bestsellers

You know we love books, but do you also have that pile just waiting to be read, always?! The TBR pile can be a glorious thing, a teetering stack of books, full of ideas and stories that made us pick them, awaiting our full attention when the mood is right. Phil & Natalie run through their summer TBR stacks - 3 each - in the hope that a story will jump out at you and demand to be added to your pile. Happy reading! If you enjoy this podcast, you can buy us a metaphorical cuppa here and tell us what's on your TBR pile!https://ko-fi.com/bestsellerspodcast

It's publication day for Clare Mackintosh: A return visitor to the BestSellers Podcast. Clare's second book in her Ffion Morgan Detective series is called A Game of Lies. It centres around a fictional reality TV show called Exposure, where contestants have to battle to keep their inner secrets, secret, whilst exposing the secrets of their fellow competitors. When one of the contestants disappears into the North Wales countryside mid-show, Ffion is called in to work out if a crime has been committed and by whom. In this episode we talk about Reality TV; How Clare was nearly the lead copper on Channel 4's Hunted and Natalie boldly suggests Clare might want to increase her HRT. It's all here...!

Holiday reads covered! And even if you're not headed away, Nat and Phil have got 5 suggestions for books to metaphorically whisk you away. There's a book about mental fitness, fictional rich people behaving badly in a whodunnit, and a fascinating debut about language and identity from Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi. Plus in praise of Caitlin Moran's writing and Julie Cohen's lusty summer romantic drama, aptly named Summer People. Hope you find something to love, and there will be more recs coming soon!Pass on your reading recs too on ko-fi and if you're able to support this podcast with a metaphorical cuppa then that would be lovely too:https://ko-fi.com/bestsellerspodcast

The brilliant Comedy Dramatist Mike Gayle returns to BestSellers. This time to tell us about his brand new nineteenth book on what is our nineteenth consecutive Episode of this season. Spooky, eh...? The book isn't spooky. It's Mike's best yet about a newly separated teacher, Helen, whose husband has not only had the mid life affair but decides to take his new girlfriend on the family holiday Helen should've been on with their children. Whilst she stews at home, the doorbell rings and out of the blue is Ben, a boyfriend from 25 years ago who's now a world famous rock star with his own problems to run from.Phil & Natalie talk to Mike about how he creates characters that you want to root for; his 25th anniversary as a published author and Natalie puts Mike on the Psychiatrist's Chair....!If you love it, feel free to buy us a metaphorical brew at: https://ko-fi.com/bestsellerspodcast

The world truly took notice of Kirstin Chen's writing with her third book, Counterfeit, which was picked up and included on influential lists by Reese Witherspoon and Roxanne Gay. A thrilling crime story centre around friendship, prejudice, and a counterfeit handbag operation, Kirstin's book hooks you in from the get-go. Based in San Francisco, Kirstin explains how a real life crime sparked this novel into life, why it became key to exploring racial injustices, and how writing and finishing a book can be success enough.If you've enjoyed this conversation please share it and tell your friends! You can also support the author by buying their book, and support Nat and Phil to make more Bestsellers podcasts by buying them a metaphorical cuppa here:https://ko-fi.com/bestsellerspodcast

Daisy Upton is a Rock Star in the BestSellers Household. You'll know her better as Five Minute Mum, a former classroom assistant who's 5 min easy to set up games for kids, have come to the rescue of many an arguing home, and earned her over 250,000 Instagram followers.Her latest book is her first targeted at children rather than parents: STARTING SCHOOL walks your child through what to expect in their first few days in a brand new environment and is packed with useful tips for children and parents alike.In this episode Daisy explains where her five minute mum concept came from; how she's now judged by other parents and where her further writing ambitions lie. We also talk Cocktails and Natalie mentions The Spirits substack by Richard Godwin, which she promised we'd link to in this synopsis, plus listen right to the end for Phil's story of a cocktail experience which ended in flames...!